Thomas Pride

Pride, Thomas, d. 1658, English parliamentary soldier in the English civil war. In Dec., 1648, acting on the orders of the army council, he carried out Pride's Purge, expelling from Parliament 143 members (mostly Presbyterians) on the ground that they were royalist sympathizers. The remaining Rump Parliament, completely under army control, then arranged the trial of Charles I. Pride, as a member of the court that condemned him, signed the king's death warrant.